Tag: Chickens

PETA, HSUS to Focus on Cockfighting Bans in Lousiana, New Mexico

With the recent Supreme Court decision that ended two years of efforts to overturn Oklahoma’s cock-fighting ban, and the defeat of a pro-cockfighting politician in Louisiana, the Humane Society of the United States and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals look to focus on enacting bans in Louisiana and New Mexico, the last two states in the United States where cockfighting is allowed.

PETA is focusing on New Mexico. In a press conference with Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez and actress Rue McClanahan, PETA’s Dan Mathews said,

Yes. Absolutely. We are targeting New Mexico.

Over the past few years, New Mexico has become a hot spot for filming Hollywood productios and Mathews hopes to convince producers to avoid the state until a ban on cockfighying is passed.

Cockfighting is already banned in 13 of New Mexico’s 33 counties, and in 29 of its cities, including Albuquerque. A proposed ban on cockfighting passed New Mexico’s state house earlier this year, but couldn’t get out of committee in the state Senate.

PETA wants the state to take up a cockfighting ban during its 60-day session that begins in Jaunuary. According to the Albuqurque Journal, a poll it took thsi summer found that two-thirds of registered voters supported a ban on cockfighting.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, however, remains non-committal on a ban, with his spokesman telling the Albuquerque Journal,

Cockfighting is already banned in the majority of counties and municipalities. The governor is willing to discuss and consider any legislative measure after a full and thorough debate on all sides.

Meanwhile, HSUS is looking to push a ban in Louisiana, where its political action committee spent $250,000 in advertising against a pro-cockfighting candidate for U.S. Senate. HSUS’s Wayne Pacelle was quoted in The Guardian (UK) as saying,

We intend to eradicate this cruel, barbaric practice. My advice to anyone moving to Louisiana thinking it’s a cockfighting refuge is not to unpack their bags — it’s going to be a very short stay.

Sources:

PETA targets NM film industry over cockfighting. Dennis Domrzalski, New Mexico Business Weekly, November 15, 2004.

Cockfight ban gets TV star’s support. Kate Nash, Albuquerque Journal, November 16, 2004.

Final battle to rid the US of ‘barbaric’ cockfighting. Richard Luscombe, The Observor, November 21, 2004.

Pacelle on Effect of Cockfighting on Louisiana Senate Race

Earlier I mentioned speculation that an anti-cockfighting ad campaign by Humane Society of the United States’ political action committee may have helped Republican David Vitter become the first Republican senator from that state since Reconstruction. The Associated Press ran a story this week looking at the extent of HSUS’ campaign and what, if any, effect it had.

HSUS targeted Democratic U.S. House Rep. Chris John, who is pro-cockfighting. Louisiana has an odd election system which typically leads to two viable Democrats running against a single Republican. If no single candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, which frequently happens, there is a run-off between the top two vote getters. The upshot is that the Democrats had never lost using this system until this year (and are now talking about ditching this bizarre process).

According to the Associated Press, HSUS’ PAC spent $250,000 targeting John, including mailing 300,000 pieces of mail to white female voters that quoted John saying, “I strongly support the cockfighting industry in Louisiana.” The PAC also paid for a television ad which told viewers that John considers cockfighting to be a “family-type thing.”

Was that the ultimate determinant? The Associated Press notes that John was such a weak candidate that he actually lost his home parish of Acadia by 10,000 votes to Vitter. Not to mention that Vitter did a good job of portraying the conservative, cock-fighting supporter John as a liberal in a state that George W. Bush won by 15 points.

The Associated Press quotes HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle as saying,

Cockfighting wasn’t the most important issue, but it was a measure of personal character. Polls show that people really want to be proud of Louisiana, and to have someone who advocates cockfighting is someone who’s going to reinforce perceptions that Louisiana is backward.

. . .

There was a political judgment made — Chris John made it — that there’s this group of voters out there that thinks cockfighting is fine, and that the right political stance is, cockfighting is fine. This election demonstrated that that’s the wrong political position.

Personally, I think Vitter’s election shows just how Republican the South is becoming, but seeing a supporter of cockfighting lose out in the process certainly doesn’t hurt.

Source:

Animal rights group claims victory in Louisiana’s Senate race. Doug Simpson, Associated Press, November 21, 2004.

Is Pro-Cockfighting Stance a Political Liability in Louisiana?

The surprise election of Republican David Vitter to Louisiana’s open Senate seat has some Democrats wondering whether the pro-cockfighting position of the leading Democrat candidate cost them the election.

Vitter’s win was a major upset — a Republican had not been elected to the Senate in Louisiana since the end of Reconstruction.

The major problem the Democrats had is that no less than three Democrats ran for the office, splitting the vote and media attention between them.

But exit polls also showed that Vitter received 32 percent of the votes from white women — a surprisingly high number. According to The Times-Picayune,

Some Democratic women said they were turned off by [leading Democratic candidate] John’s support for the bloody sport of cockfighting, an issue that was highlighted by ads from an animal rights group.

Source:

La. Dems diagnose party ills after loss. Bill Walsh, The Times-Picayune (Louisiana), November 14, 2004.

Cockfighting Supporters Exhaust Appeals in Oklahoma

In November 2002, Oklahoma voters approved a ban on cockfighting in that state. Since then, opponents of the ban had managed to delay implementation of the ban by appealing it the courts. This week, however, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the cockfighters’ appeal, which should effectively end the delay in implementing the ban.

Cockfighting supporters had argued that the ban was unconstitutionally vague. Attorney Larry Oliver, who worked on behalf of groups opposed to the ban, claimed that the ban could effectively make it illegal to watch a couple blue jays fighting in someone’s backyard.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court rejected that argument earlier this year, leading Oliver to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. This week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear that appeal, which should effectively end legal challenges to the cockfighting measure.

With that taken care of, there remain only two states — Louisiana and New Mexico — where cockfighting is still legal in the United States.

The full text of the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision upholding the ban on cockfighting can be read here.

Source:

Supreme Court steers clear of cockfighting case. Gina Holland, Associated Press, November 15, 2004.

Humane USA Targets U.S. Senate Candidate Chris John

Humane USA — an animal rights political action committee created by the Humane Society of the United States, The Fund for Animals and other groups — is targeting U.S. Senate candidate Chris John for his pro-cockfighting views.

John is part of a three-way race for an open U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana. He is running against Republican David Vitter and fellow Democrat John Kennedy. Both Vitter and Kennedy oppose cockfighting. Currently Vitter is leading the race polling at about 43 percent, but if no candidate receives a majority then a runoff election between the two top vote getters is held.

In article on its website, Humane USA says,

Chris John is clearly out of step with Louisiana voters. He has established himself as the go-to guy in Congress for the cockfighting industry. Louisiana is one of two states where cockfighting is legal, and John has been a staunch advocate of the activity in which roosters are pumped with drugs, sharp knives and razors are strapped to their legs, and they are forced to hack each other to death for entertainment and gambling.

When legislation to ban the interstate transport of fighting birds came up before the House Agriculture Committee, John tried to bottle it up. “Let me be very clear about my position on this,” he lectured. “I strongly support the cockfighting industry in Louisiana. I am adamantly opposed to this piece of legislation, and I will vote against it in every opportunity that I have.” He described cockfighting, in an interview with the Baton Rouge Advocate, as a “cultural, family-type” activity and “an industry that is very important to America.”

Humane USA is running ads against John in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport and Lafayette, and also plans for a mass mailing target Democratic and independent women voters in the state.

Sources:

Humane Society targets Senate candidate Chris John. KATC.Com, October 2004.

Chris John Supports Extreme Animal Cruelty. Humane USA, October 2004.

New Zealand's Egg Producer Federation Says It Would Prefer Bare Facts to Activists' Bare Bodies

In response to a campaign by animal rights activists in which models stripped to oppose cage production of eggs, the executive director of the Egg Producers Federation said he would prefer to debate the “bare facts” rather than “bare bodies.”

Egg Producers Federation executive director Michael brooks said in a press release,

This sort of publicity-seeking [by models stripping] trivializes a very important issue.

Brooks went on to note that the production methods of eggs are dictated largely by the need to present consumers with low cost food. According to Brooks,

This is an issue of the right of consumers to choose what sort of product they wish to buy. At present, less than 6 percent of eggs purchased are free-range. Over 92 percent are from caged hens with the balance barn-raised. Eggs are a vital and low cost source of protein consumed particularly by low socio-economic groups who cannot necessarily afford the much greater costs of free range eggs.

The public may say that they disapprove of caging in a telephone survey, but every day at the super market they buy crate produced eggs.

It is also an issue of the right to farm and behind the industry are families, individuals and communities that rely on egg production for their livelihood.

If we are to take actions that ultimately destroy an industry, we need to have very good reasons. Most of the arguments put forward by animal welfare activists simply do not stand up to scientific analysis

.

The Egg Producers Federation notes, for example, that the activists are wrong when they claim that egg producers remove the beaks from hens. According to the Egg Producers Federation,

Birds’ beaks are not removed and never have been. In fact, less than 40 percent of caged hens have the tips of their beaks trimmed — a process undertaken as small chickens when the beak is soft and there is little or no pain. It is a humane practice designed to avoid feather pecking and cannibalism. . . . Beak trimming is also practiced on free range farms for the same reason.

Brooks sums up by saying,

The point is that these matters are not simple or black and white, as the activists lead us to believe. They are trying to turn this issue into one of heroes and villains which is totally inappropriate.

On the other hand if I were an animal rights activist deciding between resting on the strength of my argument or models stripping, I think I’d have to go with the stripping models too.

Source:

Bare facts rather than bare bodies. Press Release, Egg Producers Federation of New Zealand, September 20, 2004.